Written by Emily Haydon · Founder, Revere Recruitment
If you run or lead an ecommerce business in Australia, at some point you'll need to hire - and ecommerce hiring doesn't work like most other recruitment. The roles are specialised, the best people are rarely looking, and the difference between a good hire and a great one shows up directly in your revenue. This is the guide we wish every founder and hiring manager had before they briefed their first ecommerce role. It covers what the roles actually are, what they pay, how hiring really works, and how to do it well.
We're a specialist ecommerce recruitment agency, so this is the view from inside the engine - not a textbook.
What "ecommerce recruitment" actually covers
Ecommerce is a whole business function, not a single job. When people say they need to "hire for ecommerce", they usually mean one of several very different things. Broadly, the roles fall into five families:
Ecommerce & trading - the people who run the online channel day to day: Heads of Ecommerce, Ecommerce Managers, Trading Managers, and the coordinators and analysts behind them.
Marketing - Heads of Marketing, Digital Marketing Managers, CRM & Lifecycle Managers, Paid Performance specialists, and social and content roles.
Product & operations - buyers, planners, merchandisers, warehouse and fulfilment, and customer service leadership.
Website & tech - UX/UI, CRO, and the technology leadership that keeps the platform fast and stable.
Executive leadership - the CEO, COO, CMO, CTO and CFO layer that sets the strategy.
Getting the role family right is the first decision - and it's where a lot of briefs go wrong. A "Head of Digital" means different things in different businesses, and hiring the wrong shape of person is expensive.
The roles that build an ecommerce business
Here are the roles we place most, with a one-line sense of what each is really for. We've written a full hiring guide for most of them - worth a read if you're briefing one soon.
Head of Ecommerce / Digital - owns the online P&L and channel strategy; the senior hire everything hangs off.
Ecommerce Manager - runs the site and trading day to day; the engine room.
CRM / Lifecycle Manager - turns first-time buyers into regulars; increasingly the highest-ROI marketing hire.
Paid Performance Specialist - drives real ROAS, not just spend.
Digital Marketing Manager - connects brand to revenue across channels.
Trading & Merchandising - plans the calendar and merchandises the range to sell.
Operations, Warehouse & Customer Service - the fulfilment and post-purchase experience that decides whether customers come back.
What ecommerce talent costs right now
Salaries have held firm, and the best people command a premium because the pool is small. As a rough guide (base salary only - full packages with bonus and equity run higher):
Head of Ecommerce - typically around $150,000-$200,000, stretching towards $300,000 at scale.
Ecommerce Manager - broadly $120,000-$160,000 depending on scope and team.
CRM / Lifecycle & Paid Performance - generally $100,000-$170,000 depending on seniority and platform depth.
These are indicative bands to frame a conversation - for current, role-specific numbers, our 2026 Ecommerce Salary Guide is the source of truth. Underpay against the market and you'll lose your shortlist to a competing offer; overpay without scoping the role properly and you'll feel it later.
How ecommerce hiring actually works
Two things make ecommerce recruitment different from filling a general office role. First, the strongest candidates are almost never on job boards - they're heads-down running someone else's channel, and reaching them takes a direct approach and a warm network, not an ad. Second, notice periods, counter-offers and competing opportunities are the norm at every level, so the process has to be managed carefully all the way through to start date.
Most permanent roles are recruited on a contingent basis (you pay only if you hire); senior or confidential searches are sometimes run on a retained basis. Our employers page covers how to choose an agency and how fees work - worth reading before you engage anyone.
How to hire well (the short version)
Brief properly. Scope, salary band, must-haves vs nice-to-haves, and what success looks like in year one. The better the brief, the faster and sharper the shortlist. Our job brief guide has a template.
Move at the right speed. Good ecommerce candidates have options. A process that drags loses them.
Protect the candidate experience. How you treat people who don't get the job shapes your brand in a small industry.
Hire for the environment, not just the logo. A big-brand CV doesn't always translate to a lean DTC team.
Think about six months in, not just the start date. Onboarding and fit matter as much as the offer.
Why specialist beats generalist
Ecommerce has its own language and its own network. A recruiter who lives in the space can screen for the difference between someone who talks a good game and someone who genuinely drives results - and can reach the passive candidates who'll never answer a generalist's ad. That's most of what you're paying for. It's also why every guide, salary band and placement we make sits inside ecommerce, fashion and retail - and nothing else.
FAQ
What does an ecommerce recruitment agency do? A specialist ecommerce recruitment agency helps brands hire the people who run their online business - from Ecommerce Managers and CRM specialists to Heads of Ecommerce and executive leadership. Because the best candidates are usually already employed, a good agency reaches them through a direct-approach search and a live industry network, rather than just advertising.
How much does it cost to hire an ecommerce specialist in Australia? It depends on the role and seniority. As a rough guide, Ecommerce Managers sit broadly in the $120,000-$160,000 range and Heads of Ecommerce around $150,000-$200,000+ base. Agency fees for permanent roles are typically around 15-20% of first-year salary on a contingent basis. See our 2026 Salary Guide for current figures.
How long does ecommerce recruitment take? Most permanent ecommerce roles take a few weeks from brief to accepted offer. Senior leadership and confidential searches take longer, given smaller candidate pools and longer notice periods.
Should I hire an ecommerce specialist or a generalist recruiter? For most ecommerce roles, a specialist reaches better candidates faster because they understand the roles, speak the language, and have a network of passive candidates a generalist can't easily access.
Ready to hire for your ecommerce team?
Tell us about the role and we'll come back to you within one business day.
Brief us on your role: https://www.revererecruitment.com.au/employers
Hiring in a specific city? We've written local guides to ecommerce recruitment in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth - what each market looks like, what roles pay there, and how we recruit locally.
Want the full role-by-role numbers? See what ecommerce roles pay in Australia in 2026 - salary bands for 50+ roles, free and ungated.
AI skills now come up in most ecommerce briefs - for what to look for, see what AI fluency actually looks like in ecommerce in 2026 and which ecommerce roles AI is changing first.